A two-week US-Iran ceasefire crashed oil prices and triggered $595 million in crypto liquidations, with shorts taking the worst of it.

Bitcoin surged as much as 4.9% to $72,738 on Wednesday, reaching its highest price in three weeks after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The announcement, posted to Truth Social on Tuesday evening, immediately reset risk sentiment across global markets.

The ceasefire was mediated by Pakistan, with formal peace negotiations scheduled for April 10 in Islamabad. Trump wrote that he agreed to suspend military operations against Iran for two weeks, easing fears of prolonged disruption to Middle East energy supplies that had kept a risk premium embedded across asset classes.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

Oil was the first domino. West Texas Intermediate crude fell more than 10% to approximately $95 a barrel, its sharpest single-day drop in months. As the energy-driven fear trade unwound, capital rotated into risk assets, and crypto caught a disproportionate bid.

The rally triggered approximately $595 million in crypto liquidations over 24 hours. Short positions accounted for $427 million of the total, marking the most aggressive short squeeze since early March. Traders who had been aggressively betting on further downside, with funding rates across major exchanges reflecting heavy short positioning, were caught off guard by the speed of the reversal.

Ethereum outpaced bitcoin with a gain of as much as 7.4%, reaching $2,273. The broader crypto market, which had been stuck in a fear-driven range for weeks with the Fear & Greed Index sitting at 17 out of 100, showed signs of a sentiment reset as geopolitical pressure eased.